Where I Belong
by WandFire
Summary: Hermione's account on getting into Hogwarts and her life there during her first year. Hermione finds the place where she belongs and has friends who care about her and accept her the way she is.
1. Chapter 1

Where I Belong

Chapter 1

Sunlight shone through the window of Hermione's bedroom, waking her up from another peaceful dream. In this one, she was living in magnificent castle and that wasn't the best part. She had friends. Living, breathing true friends. Hermione smiled. She glanced over at the little digital clock. 7:35. Ten minutes until the bus came.

" Oh gosh! I overslept again! I'm going to be late for school!", she yelped, jumping out of bed. She hurried downstairs, finding that the cereal she had been planning to eat was out and sitting on the counter with a stack of bowls next to it. This always seemed to happen when she oversleupt. Hermione sighed in relief. Her parents were highly recommended dentists, and even though she was eleven now, her parents had never had time to unchildproof the house in the last eight years, Hermione, who was so far taking after her mom in height and couldn't reach much in her house without standing on a chair.

Hermione ate her cereal faster than what seemed humanly possible. She went back upstairs to finish getting ready, this time being more quiet. Her parents had gotten home late the night before. Hermione went into her room to change, seeing it was only 7:38. Only three minutes since she had gotten up! Hermione pulled on a plain purple tee and a pair of jean Capris. Now it was 7:39.

"Thank goodness! Now I have time to tame the beast" she sighed thankfully. Hermione walked into the bathroom and grabbed a brush and a bottle of detangler. She always had a serious bed head case in the morning. In fact, her bushy hair was bed head to most of the people in her grade.

By the time the clock said 7:44, Hermione's hair was done and she was waiting for the bus. As the bright cheery bus pulled in, all of Hermione's joy in the speed she had pulled off getting ready seemed to pull itself out of her and go towards home. Hermione climbed onto the bus and sat in usual seat behind the bus driver, alone. Almost everyone else was in the back, so, she pulled out the book she was reading, A Little Princess. It was by her favorite classic author, Frances Hodgson Burnett. As the bus lumbered around through the streets, Hermione left the world and was pulled into Sara Crewe's life at Miss Minchens. She only noticed noticed that the bus was at the school when a boy on her bus named Matthew taunted her.

" Hey, Nesthead! You going stop reading that stupid little book of yours?!", he called out. Hermione stood off and walked off the bus heading towards the big blue doors she had been walking through for the last five years.


	2. Chapter 2

**Just wanted to let you know this is my first fanfic! So please REVIEW!**

As Hermione walked through the halls of Bolton Primary School, she noticed that everyone seemed to be more rowdy than usual. She even pulled twice the amount of spitballs from her hair! Hermione went to her locker, grabbed her books and headed off to homeroom. Her teacher, Mr. Peterson, even seemed a little distracted compared to his usual stick-in-the-mud self. He stood up as everyone finally arrived in the classroom.

" Class, please, settle down. Mr. Louis sit down in a chair please, that goes for you too, Miss Daney. Now is not the time for gossip. Ok, now that you are all giving me the utmost attention, I think we should have a quick talk. I know you guys are excited it's the last day of school, but we're not going to act like a pack of wild animals. You got it? Ok, I'm going to pass out the yearbooks," Mr. Peterson finished. Hermione was no longer confused about the behavior of her classmates. In the rush of the morning, Hermione had completely forgotten it was the last day of school.

"Hermione? Come get your yearbook, " Mr. Peterson called. Hermione walked to the front of the room and grabbed her yearbook. She couldn't help but be nervous about it. Since she was in her last year at primary school, there were superlatives that kids in her grade would be voted for. As Hermione flipped through, she found the superlatives.

Hermione sighed. There it was, a picture of her with half if her face hidden in a big, fat, book. Above, it said: BOOKWORM underneath the picture her name was written. Well, more or less. It said: Herminnie Granjer.

" Hey Herminnie ! I didn't know you changed your name! Oh, and I love your superlative picture! It's much better than mine," Kay Danby called in a sarcastic voice. Hermione flipped back to Kay's picture. She had won Most Popular. Her picture was amazing. It was her Masked Queen picture from when she won that title at the school's annual masked ball. Timmy Louis' name was printed underneath the photo in small letters. He had taken Hermione's picture, too. Timmy sauntered over to Hermione.

"Hey Nesty! You like the picture I took of you?" , Timmy asked rudely. Hermione looked her picture again. It was even worse than she thought. That day the picture had been taken had been super hot and that was the day that they did a big run in gym. Hermione's hair has even bushier than usual from that days humidity. That made the picture even worse.

Hermione tried to hold back her tears. She was always considered the Loser Queen to her classmates, but everyone else in the school would see it.

" I just wish Timmy or Kay would get something they deserve" Hermione thought. Just then, Timmy turned around to go back to his friends. He was always so confident and walked with a natural swagger. Suddenly, Timmy tripped over the leg of a chair that someone hadn't pushed in.

" Owwwwwwww! Owowowowowowwwwww!", Timmy cried out. Hermione smirked. Things like this seemed to happen when she wanted them to. Mr. Peterson walked over.

" Timmy, what hurts?", Mr. Peterson asked, clearly concerned.

" It's...my...ankle!", Timmy sobbed. Mr. Peterson and Timmy left for the nurses and the rest of the class proceeded in signing yearbooks. When Mr. Peterson came back to the class, he was quiet and let the class do whatever they wanted, as long as no one got hurt.

As Hermione boarded the bus home, she thought about the strange things that had happened throughout the day. She couldn't help but wonder: had she caused the accident? Had her parents _really _left out the bowls?

**So** **I** **know** she **doesn't** know about Hogwarts yet, but she will in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

The bus seemed more cheerful, the prospect of a whole summer without the kids annoying the driver seemed to bring a whole new cheerfulness to the ride. Next year, Hermione would be going to Halford Academy, like her parents did.

The bus pulled into Hermione's street and she walked down the bus steps for the last time. At her driveway, Hermione got the mail.

" Bill, bill, dentist catalog...huh? What's this? It's addressed to me! H... maybe Halford changed its logo," Hermione wondered. As she looked more at the envelope, she noticed it was from a different school, called Hogwarts. Inside, Hermione opened the envelope. It said:

Dear Miss Granger and parents,

I have sent this letter to inform you about the special abilities your daughter has been recognized to have. For these abilities, we would appreciate it if you consider sending her to our school. A representative will be visiting your home to tell you more tonight at precisely six o'clock.

Sincerely,

Professor Minerva Mcgonnagal

Deputy Headmistress

Hermione was shocked. Special abilities? Did they mean her good grades? She put the letter aside, deciding not to think about it until her parents got home from work.

On the counter, Hermione found a note from her parents.

Dear Hermione, it read ,

Happy last day of school! We will be getting home around 4:45 , so you won't be alone too long! You pick what we have for dinner! To celebrate your primary school career!

With love from

Mom and Dad

Hermione was puzzled. Her parents never got home early. Nevertheless, it was still a few hours until her parents got home. She looked at the envelope. It was the most strangely addressed envelope she had ever seen. It said:

Miss. H. Granger

The Pink Bedroom

12 Carlyle Road

Prestonville, Gordon

Hermione giggled, but her happiness soon became anger. She knew of only one person who knew she had a pink room- Kay Danby. It was probably their idea of a prank. The name Hogwarts was so ridiculous it couldn't possibly be real. The "special abilities"? They probably just wanted Hermione to look like a complete fool in front of her parents. Hermione scowled. Although, there seemed to be a small voice in the back of her head telling her: "This is real, not some prank,"

Again, Hermione put the letter aside. Ignoring her thoughts to call her parents, Hermione went into the kitchen to make herself some lunch. After making herself a grilled cheese, she took a bite and realized she wasn't hungry. She grabbed her book out of her bag and went up to her bedroom. Her room hadn't been changed for years, for the same reason her house was still childproofed. It was the average little girls bedroom, but with more pink. Her walls were baby pink, her bedstead and headboard were a bright, Cotten Candy pink, her curtains were a magenta color, and her windowsill was bubblegum pink. Hermione climbed up on her poodle-pink quilt on her bed. Her room hadn't changed at all since Kay Danby had last been over, when the girls were in their second year at primary school. Back then, the two had been friends. Inseparable since day one. Then, in the summer before their third year, everything had changed. Kay had gotten more into clothes, and Hermione had become a bookworm. They hadn't had a real conversation since.

Hermione glanced at her bookshelf, filled with books from The Secret Garden to Greek Mythology to The Life of Harry Houdini. The books looked like they had never been touched, yet all of them had been read.

Hermione opened up her book and started reading, lost again in the tale of Sara Crewe's wealth, poverty, and how she dealt with her father's death and how the staff at Miss Minchen's treated her. She was so lost she lost track of time.

" Hermione dear! We're home!", called the cheerful voice of Lucy Granger, Hermione's mom. Hermione bolted downstairs.

"Hello, Mum! Hi Daddy!", smiled, giving the two dentists hugs.

"So what do you want to do for dinner? We will do whatever you want," her mother smiled proudly.

" How about... pasta with meatballs and garlic bread !", Hermione asked hopefully, thoughts of the letter out of her head.

" Your wish is our command," John Granger laughed, pretending to tap her with a magic wand. She giggled. Her dad always made her laugh. After a delicious dinner of spaghetti with homemade meatballs, Hermione remembered the letter.

" Er.. Mum? Dad? A strange letter came in the mail today," she informed her bewildered parents. She went upstairs to her room and grabbed the mysterious mail from her room. When she got back downstairs, her parents took the letter and read it aloud.

" Well, honey. It's probably just for your academic record. Anyways", Lucy sighed glancing at the kitchen clock, " It's half-past five now. If we really have company coming at six, I'd better get started on the dishes, " Lucy got up from the table, kissing the top of her daughter's head as she headed towards the sink.

" 'Mione? You want to help me bake some Super-Secret-Granger-Family Recipe- Fast-Baking-Cookies?" John smiled at his daughter. The cookie recipe had been in the family for years. G.G.G( great gramma Granger) came up with it for when your in a rush to get a dessert ready. Hermione couldn't wait to get the recipe.

As John got out cocoa powder and most ingredients,( it wasn't a top- secret recipe for nothing),

Hermione got out the peanut butter and the flour. They measured out the ingredients and mixed them together in the bowl. By 5:45, the dishes were done and the cookies were in the oven and would be ready by six. Lucy put the kettle on the stove and got out the special tea her grandmother made. This was a Whitley family recipe that even her mom didn't know. The tea was hard to make because the ingredients were dried by Grammie and everyone only got a little bit each year. That's why Hermione was so surprised that her mom was using it.

" Honey?", Lucy asked wearily, " Can you please change for our company?" Hermione nodded and went upstairs. She changed into a dark blue skirt, a pale pink blouse, and black leather Mary-Janes. Downstairs, Hermione waited for six o'clock. Finally, at six o'clock on the nose, the doorbell rang. She opened the door into the weirdest sight she had ever seen. A tall, strict, looking woman was standing on the doorstep in some sort of cloak type thing. Her hair was in a tight bun and she seemed like she wouldn't appreciate any funny-business. The woman looked down at Hermione, her expression unchanged.

" Hello. You are Hermione, I take it? I'm Professor Minerva Mcgonnagal," the woman said sharply. Hermione nodded, and gestured for the woman to come in. Her voice seemed to have left her.

" You must be Mr. and Mrs. Granger. I am Minerva Mcgonnagal. "

" Yes, sit, p-p-please, right here" Lucy smiled at the woman. She always stuttered when she was nervous. The lady sat down.

" Hi. I'm John, Hermione's father. You must be from that school. Tea? Brownie?", he said confidently.

"Yes, that sounds great," the professor answered, " Now you probably don't know why I'm here. We've identified your daughter to have a very special gift. The school, Hogwarts, will help her use her gift correctly,"

" Wait. What gift?," Hermione interrupted, looking puzzled. The guest's eyes narrowed.

" I'm getting to that. Now, I know this is hard to believe, but, you are a witch. A muggle-born. That's what we call non-magical people," the professor said to Hermione.

" A WHAT! There must be a mistake. I can't be witch. I'm just a normal eleven year old girl. Is this some sort of joke? Oh my gosh! I hate that girl. Kay Danby set this up, didn't she?", Hermione rambled on.

" I assure you I have never heard of such a person in my life! This is the truth! Miss. Granger, has anything weird ever happened to you? Something you've never been able to explain?" The professor seemed offended. Hermione thought back to the morning.

" Mom? Dad? Did either of you leave out my favorite cereal and a stack of bowls for me?," she asked uncertainly. Both of her parents shook their heads. She was speechless.

" Well, if you want proof, watch," the professor turned toward her teacup. She whipped out a long, dark brown stick. Tapping the cup with the stick, she said:

" Frogopio!", and the teacup turned into a giant, green bullfrog.

" Ms. Mcgonnagal, I still don't under stand how you know I'm a witch," Hermione pressed on, still in denial

" Please. Professor Mcgonnagal. While I know it's hard to believe, it's true," Professor Mcgonnagal assured her. She was forced to realize the guest was telling the truth.

" So, where do I get my stuff?", she asked.

" Someone will be accompanying you and your to Diagon Alley in a couple of weeks. Term starts on the first of September. This letter will tell you what you need to know," Professor Mcgonnagal instructed, handing her a letter. Hermione read the letter and couldn't wait to get started. Getting trained in magic? This was the best school ever.

" Well, I must be going. Places to be and people to meet," Professor Mcgonnagal said. Then, with a pop, disappeared.

" Talk about dramatic exits" Hermione laughed.

" Honey, we're so proud of you! This is amazing!", Lucy beamed.

"Now lets take a look at this list shall we? One wand, one standardized pewter cauldron...well, this is quite the list", John smiled. Hermione nodded. Lucy stood up.

" Where are you going?", Hermione asked.

" I was thinking we could watch a movie. What do you want to watch?", Lucy smiled.

"Errr how about the new one we just got, " she answered happily.

" Ok, let's go!", John announced. That night, Hermione felt more belonged than ever before. She knew being a witch was the best thing that had ever happened to her.


End file.
